What is the Utah film tax incentive rate?

Utah offers 20% to 25% on qualified in-state spend through the Motion Picture Incentive Program. It is a refundable credit. A credit that pays out in cash when it exceeds what you owe the state. Close to a rebate for most independent productions.

What is the minimum spend for the Utah film incentive?

$500K (MPIP); $1M for 25%. Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.

Is the Utah film incentive transferable or refundable?

Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

Refundable creditHuman verified· 2026-08-31Active

Utah film tax incentive

Motion Picture Incentive Program

Headline rate

20%up to 25%

Minimum spend

$500K (MPIP); $1M for 25%

What Utah actually pays

A credit that pays out in cash when it exceeds what you owe the state. Close to a rebate for most independent productions.

New to the mechanics? Tax credit vs rebate vs grant and What counts as qualified spend.

What qualifies

Narrative, documentary, episodic series for commercial distribution. Excludes sporting events, news/current events, commercials/print, fundraising programs, live broadcast/award shows, industrial/infomercial/corporate. Not first-come, first-served — merit-based review.

Pilot
Documentary
Scripted TV
Feature Film
Reality / Unscripted

Other state programs

Separate incentives Utahruns alongside the headline program. Each has its own base, rules and application — the rates here are the programs' own, not additions to the rate above.

Community Film Incentive Program (CFIP)
Minimum spend: $100K (budget $100K–$500K)
20%

How to apply

Apply before principal photography (no earlier than 90 days prior) to the Utah Film Commission/GOEO. Monthly deadline 10th; decisions 2nd Thursday. Requires script/treatment, line-item budget with UT qualified spend, production projections, and proof of financing.

The rule to remember

Tax credit is refundable but NON-transferable; cash rebate available only under the $500K–$1M MPIP tier.

Common questions

What is the Utah film tax incentive rate?: Utah offers 20% to 25% on qualified in-state spend through the Motion Picture Incentive Program. It is a refundable credit. A credit that pays out in cash when it exceeds what you owe the state. Close to a rebate for most independent productions.
What is the minimum spend for the Utah film incentive?: $500K (MPIP); $1M for 25%. Falling under the minimum is a total loss of the benefit, not a partial one — it is worth confirming the threshold before locking a budget.
Is the Utah film incentive transferable or refundable?: Refundable — the excess over your state tax liability is paid out in cash.

Verify before you budget. These figures come from our own incentives database and each shows when it was last reviewed — but programs change between funding cycles and legislative sessions. Confirm with the film office, or ask us, before a number goes into a budget.

QUICK CALCULATOR

What could Utah be worth?

A first-pass estimate with the arithmetic shown, so you can check it rather than trust it. Switch states right here to test the same budget elsewhere, or line up to five states up side by side on the compare page.

Compare with

Programs in a similar rate band. The mechanism matters as much as the percentage — a transferable credit at 30% is not the same money as a cash grant at 30%.

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Tracking changes to this program?

We re-verify Utah against the film office and the statute, and write when something moves that would change a budget. One email, no cadence you didn't ask for.